Saturday, January 25, 2014

Epiphanies, Taare Zameen Par and more..

The Loft and Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai present a joint solo show of artist Manisha Parekh. The show is titled, ‘Epiphanies’ and displays some recent graphite on paper works by the artist.

Manisha has held several exhibitions of her works since 1991. Parekh has exhibited extensively in India, Germany and the United Kingdom.The artist’s newest direction for her work is in graphite drawings. While taking off from her established language of bio-morphic abstraction, she introduces references to both landscapes and astronomical diagrams. While among the most minimal works the artist has created in years, they are perhaps the most replete with references.

The show is on view till 2nd March 2014 at Special Project Space I and II of the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum.

Taare Zameen Par

( Work by Mini Naidoo on display)

Artist’s Center, Mumbai presents a solo show by artist Mini Naidoo. The show is titled, ‘Taare Zameen Par’ and displays the exquisite hyper-realistic portraits of film stars. The works have been rendered in charcoal and the artist has tried to capture the intrinsic beauty of the stars on the silver screen of Bollywood.

This show also is a tribute to all the yesteryears actors and actresses who have lit the way to the making of this industry thrive in the country. The show previews on 27th January at 6:00 to 8:00 pm and will be on view till 30th January 2014.

Creative Hues

( Work on display)

Pearl Art Gallery, New Delhi presents a group show of eminent artists in a show titled, ‘Creative Hues’. The show displays exquisite paintings made by the group of artists. Rendered in oil and acrylic on canvas, and charcoal and pencil on paper, it is an eclectic display of works.

The show is on view till 28th February 2014.(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)FEATURE

In the woods

An exhibition reflecting the depth of the jungle

(Meeta’s art practice shows a penchant for traditional methods of painting, like washes and watercolours)

At the core of the exhibition by two artists — Meeta Johar Dutta from India and Rajeshwary Priyaranjini from Bangladesh — lay nature. The duo dealt with various facets of nature in their respective paintings.

Meeta, talking about her series titled “Jungle Fables”, on at the Shanta Art Gallery, Jangpura, till January 20, said, “I used colours which are vibrant but that vibrancy is balanced by the calmness of the jungles that I bring forth.” Further explaining the work, she said, “I have painted the best of the jungles, the best of the woods. The strength we get while we are inside a jungle is also depicted in my paintings. You will see that I have tried to paint a pathway in all my paintings. If you are walking through a path in jungle with huge trees, it gives you a cool soothing feeling. By listening to the chirping of birds, the rustle of leaves, the wind blowing, the inner agitations and noises are suppressed. That’s the magic of the sounds of a jungle.” Meeta’s art practice shows a penchant for traditional methods of painting, like washes and watercolours. “I have basically used watercolours with washes in a form that it gives a printing affect, a type of mono printing. Usually, people use acrylic, charcoal or oil painting on canvas but I have used the traditional methods of paintings, i.e. paper, water and washes. The reason why I used these elements in my paintings is because the feel of the paper, the feel of the texture, and the watercolour’s shades is way better than what you get on canvases”, she explained.

From the colour palette, she chose green and blue. “I have used these colours because of their presence in nature. India has so many weathers and these colours depict the various weathers, the climatic changes along with the message of hope, peace and harmony.”